Schools Split On Obama Address

Broward To Show Speech, Others To Offer Options

Children in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties will have the option of not watching President Barack Obama's live back-to-school speech Tuesday, but Broward officials are holding firm on their decision that students should tune in.

Broward will broadcast the president's address live on the district's television station.

"I know that this is a quality teachable moment that we need to capture for our students," said Broward Schools Superintendent Jim Notter.

But Miami-Dade schools will not mass broadcast the speech, spokesman John Schuster said. Teachers who wish to show the address will have to use the live stream from the White House website. What students who opt out will do during the 15- or 20-minute speech is up to each school.

The Miami-Dade school district made its decision following a recommendation from its attorney - and after several dozen parents called or e-mailed Friday objecting to their kids being forced to watch a speech they say could be political.

"The timing, to me, it's not kosher," said Sebastian Martinez of Kendall, who is choosing not to let his three kids watch the speech at Auburndale Elementary on Tuesday.

"For the first time, he's getting a downturn in the polls because of the health-care plan. The timing it seems to me is political, and I don't like the idea of getting our children involved in politics," Martinez said.

Parents in Miami-Dade will receive an automated phone call over the weekend asking them to send a note to school Tuesday if they don't want their child to watch the speech.

The Florida Department of Education did not mandate a policy for schools statewide. In a statement, Education Commissioner Eric Smith told each district to decide and called the speech "a unique opportunity where a sitting president is addressing school-age children across our country."

Tuesday's address will not be the first time a president speaks to children - or the first time doing so has stirred controversy. A 1991 noontime speech to students by Republican President George H.W. Bush broadcast live on television and encouraging kids to work hard and say no to drugs drew criticism from Democrats in Congress.

Critics of Obama's speech say this time is different because the White House released sample lesson plans for teachers to design activities around the speech.

The White House has since revised some activities, including changing one from writing letters to themselves "about what they can do to help the president" to letters about how to achieve educational goals.

Earlier in the week, Jim Greer, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, issued a statement saying the speech would be using "taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda."

The White House has repeatedly said the speech, about personal responsibility and hard work, is nonpartisan and not mandatory.

"The president will speak directly to students around the country about the value of education and the importance of staying in school as part of his effort to dramatically cut the dropout rate," said Gannet Tseggai, a White House spokeswoman. "This is not a policy speech."

Miami-Dade School Board Attorney Walter Harvey said in a memo Friday the district should allow parents to excuse their child from tuning in to Obama's speech.

In Broward, Notter told reporters Friday he was not changing his previous stance: Students should watch unless schools have previously scheduled conflicts.